Geelong : Spinner Karthik Meiyappan’s hat-trick went in vain as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sunk to a 79-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their Group A round one match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
The morale-boosting win for the Asian champions comes after their shock defeat to Namibia in the first match. Sri Lanka are now at the third place in the points table with two points and one win in two matches. UAE is at the bottom of the table with zero points, having lost both their matches.
Chasing 153 runs, UAE was off to a nightmarish start as pacer Dushmanta Chameera destroyed the top order, Muhammad Waseem (2), Aryan Lakra (1) and captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan (1) left early leaving UAE rattling at 3/19 in 4.2 overs.
UAE’s miseries did not end as Pramod Madhushan castled Chirag Suri’s stumps when he had made 14 runs. UAE was at 21/4 in 5.3 overs.
At the end of the powerplay, UAE was at 23/4 in six overs, with Basil Hameed and Vriitya Aravind unbeaten at two runs each.
The middle-eastern side continued to lose early wickets after the powerplay, losing Basil Hameed (2), wicketkeeper-batter Vriitya Aravind (9), Kashif Daud (0) and Karthik Meiyappan (4). UAE were reduced to 52/8.
After Chameera’s spell in the powerplay, it was spinners Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga and skipper Dasun Shanaka who troubled their opponents.
Hasaranga continued his good run in the match, getting his third victim, Aayan Afzal Khan. He had made 19 off 21 balls. The batter had tried his best to keep one end steady but Hasaranga’s spin rattled his off stump.
Theekshana delivered the final blow to UAE, dismissing Junaid Siddique for 18. He was caught by Pathum Nissanka at long on. UAE were bundled out for 73 runs and lost the match by 79 runs.
Spinner Hasaranga was the leading bowler for SL, taking 3/8 in four overs. Chameera also took 3/15 in 3.5 overs. Theekshana took two wickets while Shanaka and Madhushan took a wicket each.
Put to bat first by UAE, Sri Lankan openers Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis put their side to a solid start. The duo maintained a fine balance between finding gaps and maintaining good running between the wickets.
Their 42-run stand ended in 28 balls when spinner Aryan Lakra trapped Mendis leg before wicket for 18 off 13 balls.
Dhananjaya de Silva joined Nissanka next. The duo took SL through the remainder of the powerplay without any further damage, finishing six overs at 52/1, with Silva (8*) and Nissanka (25*) unbeaten.
The duo brought up their 50-run stand, which ended the very next ball after a well-set Silva was run out by wicketkeeper CP Rizwan and Afzal Khan for 33 off 21 balls.
Then came leg break spinner Karthik Meiyappan, who turned the match on its head by taking scalps of Bhanuka Rajapaksa (5), Charith Asalanka (0) and captain Dasun Shanaka (0) to take the first hat trick of the tournament.
The momentum shifted to UAE with this and SL was 117/5.
Aayan Afzal Khan also got the big wicket of all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (2), sinking SL to 120/6.
Nissanka kept the one end steady all this while, bringing up his half-century in 45 balls. His 30-run stand with Chamika Karunaratne (8) took SL to 152/8 in their 20 overs.
Nissanka was dismissed on the second last ball of the innings after scoring 74 off 60 balls consisting of six fours and two sixes. Pramod Madushan and Dushmantha Chameera were unbeaten at 1*.
Karthik Meiyappan finished with figures for 3/19. Zahoor Khan took 2/26 in four overs. Aryan and Aayan took one wicket each.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka: 152/8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 74, Dhananjaya de Silva 33, Karthik Meiyappan 3/19) defeated UAE: 73/10 (Aayan Afzal Khan 19, Junaid Siddique 18, Wanindu Hasaranga 3/8) by 79 runs.
